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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27518761">Learning to Thrive (in a World Meant to Die)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/viktory_arts/pseuds/viktory_arts'>viktory_arts</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Learning to Thrive (in a World Made to Die) and Other Stories [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda &amp; Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Adventure &amp; Romance, Amnesia, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, I promise this is a lot happier than the tags make it seem, It'll be a bit before the links all join together, Link (Legend of Zelda) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), M/M, Memory Loss, Mental Health Issues, Novelization, Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Sign Language, Slow Burn, Team as Family, Temporary Character Death, Wild (Linked Universe)-centric, gotta get that link/sheik action first</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-08 05:07:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,430</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27518761</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/viktory_arts/pseuds/viktory_arts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After a hundred years of slumber, and no memories to his name, Link exits the Shrine of Resurrection into a world torn by a calamity so large it seemed to fill Link's entire being with dread. With the help of a strange young man named Sheik, Link goes about to save his world from the clutches of Calamity Ganon. </p><p>Follow Link as he learns to live, love, and be human again in a world so focused on his demise. Will he succumb to the insurmountable grief he holds over his head and on his shoulders, or will he learn to love again?</p><p>And who are those strange hylians all bearing the name Link?</p><p>(tldr; link and sheik go about to save the world and fall in love along the way.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Daruk &amp; Link &amp; Mipha &amp; Revali &amp; Urbosa &amp; Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Four &amp; Hyrule &amp; Legend &amp; Sky &amp; Time &amp; Twilight &amp; Warriors &amp; Wild &amp; Wind (Linked Universe), Link/Malon (Legend of Zelda), Link/Ravio (Legend of Zelda), Link/Sheik (Legend of Zelda), Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Learning to Thrive (in a World Made to Die) and Other Stories [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2011291</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Learning to Thrive (in a World Meant to Die)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>WOOOOO DOGGY MAN I AM EXCITED TO SHARE THIS!!!</p><p>this is the first story that i plan to actually make into a novel-length fanfiction. i have so many ideas and i can't wait to share them!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“...Open your eyes…” </span>
  </em>
  <span>A faint voice mumbled, echoing. He had a short-lived full-body shiver, as if he could feel the breath of the voice’s owner brushing against his ears. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Open your eyes.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> The voice, now sounding less like a whisper and more like a gentle demand, said. The boy in the chamber eyes twitched, squeezing shut harder, like he was trying to block out everything around him. But eventually he succumbed to the voice’s wishes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first thing the young man saw when he opened his eyes was a bright, neon-blue light that almost blinded him. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw that there was an intricate pattern of a warm-colored stone interlaced with the neon-blue lights. He suddenly seemed to remember he had a body, the feeling coming back to him at baffling speed. He felt like he was laying in something wet, like a bed of water. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He curled his fingers and toes, testing how they worked. He moved his arms, the numb, unused feeling coursing through his veins. He squeezed the muscles in his legs, breaking the tension of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wake up, Link.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> The voice, decidedly a female voice, demanded again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Link?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> the boy asked himself in the silence of the chamber. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Am </span>
  </em>
  <span>I</span>
  <em>
    <span> Link?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> he felt a wave of </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> rush through him. He couldn’t decipher what the feeling </span>
  <em>
    <span>was,</span>
  </em>
  <span> though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He leaned up, water droplets dripping down his bare back and his long blonde hair, tied into a loose ponytail. His back cracked with the effort. He shifted his shoulders around, turning and kicking his feet over the side of the chamber that had held him. His feet didn’t touch the ground, but when he looked down to see his body, Link sucked in a breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His skin looked like molten lava had touched and burned it. The skin was hard, obviously healed but scarred severely. Link gently brought his hand up to touch his face and found that the left side matched the rest of his left chest and shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘What happened?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Link asked himself, shifting on the edge of the chamber. He looked around the room, a sense of confusion settling in his muddy thoughts. The room he resided in was round with dark stone walls that matched the intricate carvings that had been above him when he first woke up. A soft orange light emanated from the walls, also carved into the stone. His feet dangled for a moment longer as he got his bearings, as little as there was to see in the room, and launched himself off the side of the chamber. He stumbled a little when his feet hit the floor, like they were trying to remember how to hold him up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took a few cautious steps away from the contraption that he had woken up in. He no longer stumbled, but his legs felt loose and unsteady. Like he hadn’t walked in a long time. He squeezed his hands into a fist, watching the blood from his fingertips recede and make his skin turn white. It almost hurt, the young man noted, but not really. Once he loosened his fist, however, the blood came rushing back and feeling was returned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Link looked around again, now walking slowly to sate his curiosity. He walked over to one of the walls, tracing a hand against the damp rock. The patterns carved into the stone felt purposeful to his fingers, but for what reason he did not know. He was still in a state of confusion with a muddled mind. His thoughts were racing at the new sensations, like he had never felt, smelled, saw, or heard anything in his life before. Which didn’t instinctually feel right; Link for some reason felt like he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> experienced things before. But why? Why did everything feel both new and told to the youth?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Link shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts from his head. He needed to leave the room. But how? There was no door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Light blue eyes eventually settled on a softly blue-glowing pedestal. Link hurried over to it, legs still shaky from disuse. Once he got over there, he examined it from far away, looking it over before he carefully ran a hand over the smooth stone. The rock was damp and cold to the touch. Link sighed once he realized nothing was going to come from the pedestal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had started to walk away when, suddenly, there was a sound. Link turned around quickly, eyes darting around before they settled on the now brighter-glowing pedestal. He made careful steps towards it, trepidation in each small stride. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was looking over the pedestal when there was the sound of stone rubbing up against itself. The center of the pedestal rose up, the inner circle turning around and lifting some sort of device in the middle of it. The device had a single, glowing blue eye on it with small lines glowing a softer orange. The eye had the design that made it look like it was crying a single tear down its center. Link was hesitant to touch it.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That is a Sheikah Slate.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> The voice was back again. Link rapidly looked around in every direction, looking for the voice’s source. He couldn’t find anything, but he didn’t let his guard down. The voice somehow seemed familiar, even though Link had never heard it before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Link had a feeling that he would feel this sense of deja vu for a long while.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Take it.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The disembodied voice said, forceful but somehow still gentle. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“It will help guide you after your long slumber.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Link hesitantly took another step forward and picked up the ‘Sheikah Slate’. He turned it all over, checking every nook and cranny of the device. He ran his fingers over the smooth metal and stone of the slate. There seemed to be something like a screen in the middle of it though it looked to be off. Suddenly the eye shone on the screen, neon blue and making a noise loud enough in the quiet chamber to startle the young man. He’d never seen this device before, but somehow it seemed familiar. It resonated a feeling within Link that felt… warm. He ignored the feeling, deciding he could figure things out once he left the chamber.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pedestal lowered back into itself, the grinding of stone filling Link’s ears. The stone door, that was broken off into sections, rose into the rock wall. Link stumbled back at the commotion, caught off-guard once again. He slowly made his way over the newly opened walkway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The new room had two wooden chests and a couple of wooden boxes and other debris lying around. Link’s bare feet padded loudly in the silence of the room. Dim blue lights lit the room, making it feel very somber. He hurried over to the chests, opening them up and finding an old and dusty pair of shoes, socks, pants, and a shirt. He ran his fingers over the rough material, drinking in the new sensation. How did he know what these things were called? He had never seen them before; not that he could remember, at least.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He eventually set down the clothes and started to put them on. He tugged his legs through the pant holes, the material somehow not ripping even though they felt too small on the short teen’s body. He pulled on the shirt, socks, and shoes next. He laced up the boots on instinct.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Yet another thing I know how to do and I don’t remember why’</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the blonde thought to himself as he scavenged the wooden boxes and broken wooden barrels. There was nothing but dust and chipped wood, he was sad to report. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He eventually made his way towards the glowing orange pedestal. He examined it for a second before the voice spoke again, louder than they were before.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hold the Sheikah Slate up to the pedestal. That will show you the way.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Link eyed the pedestal warily, thumbing the device he put onto his belt. Should he trust the voice? Something told him he should, but for what reason? A vague feeling of comfort that the voice gave him? Link sighed before he came to a decision.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held up the Sheikah Slate to the piece of technology, sliding its metal over the center of the contraption. It made a </span>
  <em>
    <span>ding</span>
  </em>
  <span> of recognition as the eye of the slate slid onto the eye of the pedestal. It turned from orange to blue in a flash. Link startled, not expecting the noise </span>
  <em>
    <span>or</span>
  </em>
  <span> the flash of light. His shoulders were tense when a mechanical female voice sounded.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Authenticating…”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Link jumped at the light but monotone voice, shoving the slate back into the pouch of his belt. He backed away, turning to look at the door that was similarly made to the door that led to the room he woke up in. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Sheikah Slate confirmed.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> The machine spoke again, then suddenly the room was shaking with the effort to raise the stone door into the ceiling. A bright, warm light streamed through the open doorway. Link made tentative steps towards it, holding a hand up to block some of the light that was almost blinding. He squeezed his other hand into a fist, a nervous and excited feeling coursing through his veins. The smell of… something filled his nostrils. It smelled earthy and damp, but not like the moistness of the chamber he woke up in. No; it was something that smelled freeing, somehow. Untainted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He walked over to the stone stairs that were covered in dirt and dust. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised when the voice that woke him up spoke to him again.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Link… You are the light- our light- that must shine upon Hyrule once again. Now, go…” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Link wanted to ask why </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> was the light, and what was ‘Hyrule’? He felt like he should know, but he didn’t. Why was he so important?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was going to ask all these questions and more, but he felt like the voice had left him, like their presence was gone. For some reason, Link felt much heavier and lonelier without them. With them, he wasn’t alone, but without them, who was he? What was he supposed to be? Why was he here?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Why couldn’t he remember anything?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Link sighed, knowing he wouldn’t get any answers from someone who wasn’t there in the first place. He steeled himself, giving a little nod of determination and ascended the stairs, only to climb a small rock ledge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once he lifted himself up, his eyes caught sight of the color </span>
  <em>
    <span>green.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Grays and blues and oranges lit up the sky as he raced, almost stumbling into the dirt as he ran to the edge of the cliffside. He looked over the cliff, his eyes training on nothing yet everything at once. Foxes and boars ran through the fields below him. A sea of green and the reflection of small bodies of water met his eyes. The sky was… beautiful. Link felt breathless looking at everything in front of him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Champion?” A voice called from behind him, decidedly male. Link whipped around, eyes scanning for the source. He finally met gazes with another man, one eye covered and the other a bloody, ruby red. His blonde hair was peeking out underneath his turban. He had the same symbol of a red eye on his chest. He looked like a warrior, through and through.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Link was about to open his mouth to reply before he was hit by he was hit by a sudden feeling of complete </span>
  <em>
    <span>terror.</span>
  </em>
  <span> His entire body stiffened, his face naturally falling into an emotionless facade. He instead lifted up his hands, moving them in an instinctual manner.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Champion?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> He signed in a language he didn’t realize he knew. He was finding out so many new things about himself today. The man seemed to deflate slightly at the use of his hands, but quickly regained composure. He took a step towards Link, careful and slow, like he was afraid of scaring an animal. Link only felt confused, and maybe a little curious, but not </span>
  <em>
    <span>scared.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He huffed a little and waved in greeting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Champion, you are awake…” the young man trailed off, awe present in his voice. Link felt uncomfortable with the amount of attention the other was giving him. The man looked at Link with both a sad and a hopeful expression. Like he was expecting the newly awoken boy to do something amazing. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Who are you?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Link signed and the other blinked, obviously not expecting that question right off the bat. He cleared his throat quietly straightening his posture.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am Sheik of the Sheikah. I am here to help the hero, to help </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Sheik introduced himself and Link looked at him with confusion in his blue eyes. He pointed to himself, disbelief obvious in his motions.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Me?’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>He asked and Sheik nodded, tiredness seemingly seeping into his body. He looked down towards the ground and then up to the sky. Link thought he heard the other say underneath his breath, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Goddesses help me…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. You are the hero, the one that Hyrule needs.” Sheik said and Link was brought back to the voice in the chamber. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You are the light that must shine upon Hyrule once again…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘What do you mean I’m the ‘hero’?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Link signed and Sheik’s whole attitude seemed to drop at the question. A look of despair flashed through his crimson eye. His bandages rustled in the wind, his hair being carried by its gale. His gaze went glassy and he looked to the sky once again, mouthing words in a language Link didn’t know. He almost looked like he was praying. A wave of nostalgia rippled through Link when Sheik looked back at him and spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are the chosen hero of Hyrule, destined to defeat the Calamity.” A flash of a face suddenly overlapped with Sheik’s in that moment. The overlapping figure’s face looked stern, but kind, and he had hair much the same color as Link’s own. A blink later, and the face was gone.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘How do you know?’</span>
  </em>
  <span> Link questioned and Sheik sighed, turning away from the other boy. His shoulders were tense when he spoke again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll… tell you in due time.” He glanced over his shoulder back to Link. “Now come, we have much to do before you’re prepared for your journey.” He started to walk away, down the small mountain’s edge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Link had no choice but to run after him.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>tell me your thoughts and what you want to see happen!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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